(Moments Earlier)

Devin’s Ai20 lumbered towards the San Juan Bridge, spotting the clearing right next to it where he aimed to duck into, peering behind him once more to see if the others decided to follow last second. As expected, only the sparse foot traffic along with several passing vehicles filled his visuals. He then stepped into the clearing and turned to the other side of the street, now looking upon the surfacing of a Kappa frame from the river bank below. He set his munitions to live rounds and disabled the safety, pulling his rifle around slowly.

The Kappa frame was careful to make its way up without use of boosters, seemingly as if to keep a low profile. It then raised its rifle and took careful aim at Devin’s cockpit, firing off a steady burst, sparks and hot fragments of armor flying off, zinging through the air and into the buildings nearby. The Ai20 fell with a thud, rolling over with its cockpit pointing to the sky.

Devin shouted out in pain and fright, reaching for the door opening lever. “I’m hit hard! Lost control of right arm! Bailing before they get here!” he exclaimed into the empty airwaves, pulling the lever to see the two door halves open. He then saw two men with rifles show up, prompting him to throw his hands back against the seat.

“Out! Get out with your hands up!” one of the men barked furiously as another dropped his rifle to reach in and yank him out by the wrists. “And no funny business!”

“Alright, stop! Don’t shoot!” Devin cried out in panic, struggling to keep his balance while being forced out. “I’ll get out! I surrender! Just please, don’t shoot!”

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The pair of armed men finally got Devin down from the toppled LTAC to find a small crowd gathered to see what the commotion was, but kept its distance for obvious safety concerns. Several other gunmen being present also ensured the crowd kept their distance. The one that held Devin by the wrists now let go, patting him on the back. “You left all your shit in the cockpit, right, Tenshi?” he casually spoke to Devin in a lowered tone, careful not to get picked up by the black box’s audio recording from the Ai20 they left behind.

“Hell no,” Devin answered as he tugged his pilot suit straight and shook some of the tension from his shoulders. “You still take me for a rookie?”

“Hey, that was some good acting- you had me thinking you actually pissed your pants,” he joked back as he slung his rifle and let it fall to his side. “Speaking of, I got word for you. Straight from Tyrus.”

“What’s that? Why couldn’t he tell me before all this?!”

They were now walking past the Kappa frame that had its pilot turning to take its position back by the river bank.

“I think Tyrus only just found this out literally minutes ago. I got this word right before entering the umbrella zone.” They now arrived to the foot of the bridge as they continued across. “Here,” he said as he handed him a set of keys and a paper ripped from a notepad. “Take this.”

Devin unfolded the paper while stuffing the keys into an empty pocket. Revenant found spotted near the Occala Casino. Suspicious activity expected. Any nearby units respond and investigate. He looked up, shaking his head. “I was never a fan of Revenant joining us.”

“But isn’t he the biggest shot pilot we’ve picked up in ages?”

“He’s about to fuck everything up if he stirs up Hexa the wrong way. Project Excalibur is only this far from coming to fruition, and it only takes as many steps forward as Rex’s fuckups make them.”

“Well, Tenshi, good luck finding him, I guess. I’ll be approaching from the south corner if you get the north.”

“No, I’ll take the parking garage, Texas, you take the poolside.” He then looked behind him to the second gunman from earlier and nodded. “I take it you will handle cleanup if needed?

“Always,” he mumbled.

“Here, chew on this, Trident,” Devin joked as he handed him a set of pictures. “You see this guy or his girl, shoot their asses on sight.” The pictures he handed him were of Isaiah’s and Marian’s faces.

“Woah, Tenshi, that’s not in our orders,” he mumbled back, trying to keep his voice down.

“I know that, damn it. Everywhere Rex’s men show up, shit gets fucked all the way down to hell. So, with Revenant AWOL, it means Rex’s golden boy is here somewhere. Think about it.”

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▽　▽　▽

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“Another jamming umbrella was opened around the Occala Casino!”

Devin heard over his earpiece, flaring his emotions as he stepped harder on the gas pedal, tearing around slower traffic. “Almost there! Give me a minute!” Head shaking, teeth clenching, he let out a sigh of disbelief, peering occasionally ahead and to his right to see the lights of the casino steadily approaching.

Damn it! I wish I could’ve known all this shit sooner! Of all places, WHY did Kerry have to choose this joint?

Just over a minute later, he pulled into the entrance boulevard and tapped on his earpiece. “Testing.” Silence told him he was well within the jamming range, cueing him to toss his earpiece in the cup holder of the console. “Well! No time to waste!”

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▽　▽　▽

He had finally made it into the base level of the parking garage and saw people starting to pour out of the exits, giving him a feeling in his gut he might have been too late to stop something terrible. What the hell would bring Revenant all the way out here?! Once he got past one crossing pack of pedestrians, he floored the pedal and squealed his tires around the next few corners, making his way up the ramps as fast as he could. Once he got several floors up, he couldn’t help but notice how much quieter things were.

He slowed his car to a halt and waited, foot resting on the brake. His eyes darted back and forth across the level, seeing not but a few heads walking towards the entrance. Why are they walking IN and not OUT like the rest? He elected to spend a few more seconds scanning the area, and with no success he let off the brake and quickly accelerated over to the other side of the level.

Something stinks here, but I can’t tell shit with this lighting and noise. His car he was handed had louder exhaust than he wanted at a time like this, pressing the engine on/off button. The newfound silence was a welcome feeling. He now heard footsteps in the distance even though he couldn’t see a moving soul.

Many seconds passed, unable to determine what he could swear was approaching footsteps. But the soul-jarring sound of echoing pistol fire that he knew the sound of all-too-well shook his senses awake, quickly reaching for his own pistol from under the seat. His hands found nothing but grit and metal supports, prompting the throwing of himself back into his seat with a slamming of his hands on the wheel. Shit! They didn’t leave one for me! Having no more time to think, he quickly started back his engine and spun the car off in the opposite direction to close back in on the nearest entrance door. Kerry, please be alright!

As he rapidly approached the last corner that would bring him to the front row, a figure moving between concrete pillars grabbed his attention. He saw the face even just for that one split second and he knew exactly who he caught sight of. Revenant! He threw on the e-brake, spun his car into a complete U-turn, and accelerated hard the opposite direction in a manner that would allow him to catch back up. But then he heard the cracking of glass several times, followed by a female’s scream. That doesn’t sound like Kerry. Who is his target?!

He then remembered where the pistol they left for him might have been, stopping the car and reaching for the glove compartment. Opening it, he found a silencer-attached pistol, drawing a sigh of relief. There it is! He opened his door amidst the sound of screams and panicking casino-goers and looked around where he figured Revenant would be, hearing another pop of cracking glass. There he is! He thought as he spotted a lone silhouette standing up in the distance. He fired a few shots, missing, but definitely sending the signal he intended. But before he could get himself situated back in his car to move to a better shooting angle, a girl dressed in a party outfit stumbled into his lane, clearly distressed and panicked. His target is… this girl?! WAIT – I know her!

He wasted no time pulling up and reached over to throw open the door, shouting: “Sam! Get in!”

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.

Kerry ran up to find no one standing where Revenant was, out of breath herself and unable to focus fully any more, tears of anger rolling down her face. They took Sam! Motherfuckers took her! Hands on her knees, standing between a row of cars, she finally was able to discern the sound of running feet over the accelerating roar of the car that she knew Sam disappeared into. She without hesitation took one more burst towards the last open lane, seeing Revenant in full sprint as if he were running away. She held her bloodied hands up, firing the last few rounds she had, not having the fortune to strike her target before he disappeared from sight.

Physically and emotionally spent, still trying to catch her breath, she let her arms droop to her sides, slowing lowering the rest of herself to the pavement below, holding back the urge to break down and cry. The soft lights around revealed her bloodstained silver half of her outfit along with some smeared blood spray across her left cheek. Her left hand unfolded as the device she held from earlier fell out, blood and bits of flesh flung from it as it clanged on the floor.

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(Present Time)

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“I take the silence as a yes, damn it! Does Kerry know about this?!” Sam continued interrogating, fighting off the horrible sensation arising from her decision to make that thoroughly damning accusation. It was a bold one, even for her standards and her long-running history of doing such. This time, however, it wasn’t her family or friends sitting across from the scathing attack. This one might cost her life, but perhaps it was her close encounters to losing that very same life that had her a bit numb to such a fear.

“If anything,” he started with a sideways grin, eyes still on the road. “From this point on, what I will say is that you should just sit back and shut the fuck up, because you don’t seem to really understand jack shit about what’s been going on and what is what.”

“I know exactly what the Underground has been doing, and no one knows anything or anyone unless you know their names!”

“What names?!” he laughed. “What the hell are you on!? Before I drop your ass out this car right now.”

“Like Revenant!” He hasn’t killed me yet, so might as well throw this one out as well! She had one name in particular in the back of her head ever since that time the late Taneesha had her burner phone compromised, leading it to becoming a household name and a world-wide man hunt. “And Rex! I know his name! I assume you know all about him, right?!”

That name set off a nerve, pulling his eyes from the road and onto her, finding a fierce stare fired back at him as if it aimed for his soul. He focused back on the road that next instant, taking in a breath. He then felt a rumble from his steering wheel that vibrated to a short pattern. “You must be real close friends with her,” he mumbled in reference to Kerry. “You know, I planned on that being her right there in your seat, not you.”

“That doesn’t answer my question!”

“Once the car stops up ahead, you can’t say a word. You hear me?”

“No! I don’t hear you at all unless you are just going to admit you’re outright avoiding-”

“Look around and shut up for just one fucking second, please?” he interrupted her, rolling his eyes.

She forgot the window had been rolled down some, noticing more now how rough town had become. Where was she now? The tightly-packed, hanging cable choked, dilapidated buildings’ appearances reminded her of one of the older Dhaka Precincts she was taken through.

Devin felt the rumble through his steering wheel once more before continuing: “I said you are going to lay low. I picked you up because I couldn’t let that man kill you. It’d break Kerry’s heart, wouldn’t it? She just tried calling my phone that I don’t even have with me several times. She’s worried about me and likely trying to figure out how to save you or how to figure out who took you, having no clue it was me.”

His sudden change in tone had the hint of sincerity Sam didn’t expect. She backed off of her charge, letting him finish.

“I bailed out of my post to go save her in case she was the target, but found out that was you. You know, before you go off asking why am I leaving her behind? I’m… not,” he paused with a sigh as traffic slowed to a crawl on the now-narrowed street. “I hate leaving her in this kind of state, but she’s stronger than me. You? I got no clue what your mettle is, but you looked like a deer in the headlights back there. Revenant was one step from putting a bullet in your head, too. Now,” he said with a look back towards her. “You don’t know anything, understand?” He waited for a nod or any gesture of the sort. “OK? I don’t want to hear you sounding like you know what Underground is, because you don’t. You are going to lay low for a day or two until I figure out what the hell to do about you. Understand?”

She finally nodded, unwilling as it was, but she had no choice.

“Good. If I think you’re worth explaining any shit to, I will decide if I do, what I do, and when. And I highly doubt I do, just for the record.” He then pulled into a narrow alley, puttering along while searching for a certain building. “You know what, I already know what to do with you. Give this whole jamming net operation a few days to clear up so I can make my way out. Kerry and I will be gone from this hemisphere so it won’t even matter what you say about me then.”

What makes him so confident Kerry would be so accepting of all this? Or better yet, why am I even listening?! I can’t trust a damn thing he says as things are! But then again… Her thoughts trailed, noting the solid concrete building they pulled up to had all windows blocked off and painted over. It must have not seen maintenance in a century, either, going by the looks of it. The car pulled over next to the only visible entrance as a handful of men with hands in their hoodie pockets eased up. Yeah… all I can do is keep my mouth shut and myself alive for now.

He left the engine running as he put the car in park, getting out to speak over to the nearest approaching man. “I need to talk to Tyrus. Give me a phone or something ready, will ya?”

“Who’s the dressed-up chick?” the man chuckled with a pointed finger towards Sam. “Doing the side-chick thing?”

“Get me Tyrus,” he flatly persisted, looking back to Sam, noting how tense she still was. “She knows about Rex. Might be pretty damn useful to us, so I’ll be fixing her a room for now and I will figure out what to do next.” He motioned her to get out and looked back to the man standing next to him. “When I get back down, have that phone ready. This is urgent.”

Kerry… do you have any clue as to who the hell you plan on marrying here?!